I used 3/4 conduit to strengthen a aluminum pole I had up for a CB antenna, the aluminum pole was 2" at the bottom and 1/2 inch at the top of a 20' sectional pole. I used 3/4 inch metal conduit to lay in next to the aluminum and I have 2 sections of 10' with a five foot section as the splice to the two ten foot sections and it has withstood a 30 mph winds at twenty feet in the air with a 12' fiberglass CB antenna at the top of it. I expect winds to be much larger this summer during Spring and Fall; we usually get up into the 50+ mph rage or better. So I plan to put another section of the same material on the other side of this same pole assembly. This ought to increase my projections up to at least 60 mph winds; and I expect to do it one more time if the winds should be projected or forecasted to increase from there. My makeshift base mount (for the antenna mast) is a mount that is designed for temporarily use during Hamfests, and for flags in general, that you drive a wheel of your car onto, to keep the mast from falling over in the wind. 030 operator Gary, GB5ABL.

I'm putting a trellis along an 8 foot long section of my bed, which is raised 15 inches off ground level. My plan is to pound 4 foot sections of rebar two feet into the ground, then slip the conduit over that. With 10 foot conduit sections, that will put the top of my trellis 8 feet 9 inches above bed level. Maybe that is too high? I'm growing okra as well as indeterminant tomatoes. Anyway, I could cut the risers shorter if it seems too high. I have to connect the two risers on each end with a cross piece to form the horizontal support, and that is why I bought the corner connectors. Since my horizontal span is 8 feet, I figured I'd build a 2x4 vertical support at the four foot mark half-way between the ends. If that support and the corner fittings won't hold the weight of an 8 foot horizontal section loaded down with tomato vines, then I'll take those parts back to the store and try something else. If you bend 3/4 inch conduit to avoid the corner connectors, wouldn't you still have to use a straight connector to join the bent horizontal section to the verticals? It occurs to me that 1/2 inch conduit for the top section might work better since I'm using 3/4 inch for the risers. Then I could bend the end of the 1/2 inch conduit and (hopefully) stick it in the end of the 3/4 inch risers. I also thought of using 2x4 for the entire horizontal section. Drill a hole at each end for the pipe to go through, put a clamp on the conduit near the top to keep the 2x4 from sliding down. PVC pipe-covered rebar with welded 90 corners to slip into the risers might work too. I'm building my trellis today, one way or the other.

I also have a portion of my vinyl coated fencing material left over, however it is not as rigid as remesh. Won't it bend under the weight of the plant and tomatoes? Another concern is that if cut the openings bigger I won't be able to get a clean flush cut. When someone goes to stick their hand in, they may get a nice gash. Or is there a trick to this? Can't speak to your vinyl fencing as I'm not familiar with it so it could be too flexible. But no, regular galvanized, welded wire fencing won't bend under the weight. These cages in the pic are 8-10 years old now with no problems. But like all tall cages they do still require a stake to keep the wind from laying them over when they reach full growth. I just hadn't staked the cages in the pic yet. I drive a 3' spade-end metal stake along side each cage and strap tie the cage to it in a couple of places. As to the cuts, you just leave a 1/2-3/4" tag end when you cut and bend them back with pliers or channel locks. Gives you a nice smooth finish to the opening. You can also use a powdered hand grinder which cuts and grinds down the rough end at the same time. Dave

Seysonn, do you know of any determinate varieties with black/purple fruit coloring, nice, smoky rich flavor, cherry or grape size, and will produce until frost? So far it's been easier to find indeterminate varieties that do that. I have watched several youtube videos on pruning, but only a couple on growing in smaller spaces, and not much in the way of deciding between the one or two stem idea. I have a 15-gallon laundry tub that I will drill holes in the bottom of, it is 20in wide at the top and I think about 18in deep. One nice thing is that because I have a balcony, I can easily tie a very tall cage/trellis to the balcony railing, which is metal and very sturdy. I spend time every morning and evening babying plants that don't need it lol so I'm actually looking forward to having more pruning to do haha. Since I haven't decided how to prune it, I haven't decided how to support it. right now my tomato plant is about 1/2in tall, so I have a bit of time to plan properly. I have been leaning towards getting 4 very tall electric conduit pipes, screwing them into the side of the pot, and using wire or string to create a cage. What do y'all think of this? Or should I start another topic for that question? The reason I'm considering this particular support idea is because I will need to be able to dismantle the whole trellis/cage when tomato season is over to make room for other plants, it's also cheap, but I'd have to figure out the right way to tie the twine/wire, pick the best kind for the situation, etc. So I guess we'll see. Dave, Thank you so much for that advice on how vines grow! I wasn't considering that so now I know that I for sure don't want a single stem pruning method. So I wonder how much space four semi-pruned stems will take up? I'm trying different ideas in my head to have the plant use up the 9 or so feet of vertical space but not a ton of horizontal space.